S.Korea won reverses early gains to end lower; intervention suspected

SEOUL, Dec 17 (Reuters) - The South Korean won fell on Wednesday after a sharp turnaround from modest gains seen earlier as the dollar rebounded off lows against the Japanese yen.

The won was quoted at 1,094.9 to the dollar at the conclusion of onshore trade, compared to Tuesday's closing rate of 1,086.7.

In a volatile day, the won rose to a high of 1,081.6 per dollar in the morning before turning on its heels to end lower, with some market players suspecting the financial authorities of undertaking smoothing operations to check the won's strength against the yen.

The dollar found late support from indications that falling oil prices and a financial crisis in Russia would not deter the U.S. Federal Reserve from keeping its plans for an interest rate hike on schedule.